Sending African elephants captured from the wild to zoos might soon be banned. At the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, hosted in Geneva, the majority of countries present voted to prohibit the transfer of elephants caught in the wild to be held in captive facilities.
More than 180 countries attended the convention, and 46 voted in favour of the ban, 18 voted against the ban, and 19 abstained from voting altogether.
Iris Ho, a senior wildlife specialist for Human Society International (HSI) said, “This decision will save countless elephants from being ripped away from their families in the wild and forced to spend their lifetimes imprisoned in substandard conditions at zoos”.
Although elephants in western, central, and eastern have been listed among species in need of protection and therefore banned from trade, trade has been allowed in southern Africa because of the healthier elephant populations. The ban will ensure that no region will be able to trade in elephants.
